The Best Scented Laundry Detergents Our Editors Have Tried—From The Laundress to Snif

Lately, laundry day has started to smell a lot more like a perfume counter than a supermarket aisle. I’m talking sophisticated blends like the cardamom, vanilla and sandalwood in Snif’s Old Money detergent or the mandarin, cinnamon and labdanum in Laundry Sauce’s Mojave Peach pods. These aren’t the sharp, one‑note “fresh linen” or “mountain spring” scents you get from your standard mainstream laundry brand—they’re complex, layered fragrances you’d expect to find in a high‑end candle or a designer’s signature perfume.

And the appeal goes beyond scent. Many of these blends are made with perfume‑caliber fragrance oils and enzyme‑rich formulas, meaning they’re as effective at lifting marinara and sweat stains as they are at infusing your sheets, towels and sweaters with a scent so decadent you’ll skip perfume altogether. Think of it as the quiet luxury of the laundry world: designer‑level fragrance and serious stain‑fighting power in one bottle (or pod).

So below, I had PureWow editors put the most buzz‑worthy detergents to the test. From musky, Tom Ford‑esque blends to sparkling floral bouquets, here are the very best‑smelling laundry detergents money can buy.

To determine which laundry detergents deliver on both scent and performance, PureWow editors put 10 best-selling contenders through a series of tests. We evaluated each option based on whether it had A) a scent that was strong enough to linger after washing, B) a minimum of 16 ounces (typically 15 loads) per bottle and C) enzymes and stain-fighting ingredients that will remove dirt and leave laundry looking fresh. (Scroll to the bottom of this article to read more about that.) Here are a list of questions we kept in mind during our first wash: 

• Scent: Did it linger on clothes for days or disappear post-dry? Were the fragrance notes balanced and sophisticated?
• Effectiveness: Could it remove tough stains like marinara sauce, sweat and foundation without pre-treating?
• Feel: How soft did fabrics—like linens, silks, and athleticwear—feel after washing? Did it revive dulled or worn materials?
• Ease of Use: Was it concentrated, requiring less detergent per load? Did pods dissolve fully, and did the detergent work equally well for hand-washing and machine cycles?

From fruity notes to floral blends, and subtle hints to powerful payoffs, the finalists were chosen for their ability to transform laundry day into a luxe, sensory experience.

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While we’re all about finding a detergent that smells delicious, you want to start by making sure it will do what it’s supposed to: Clean your clothes. That means looking for one that uses enzymes, which are “added to detergents to accelerate chemical reactions and [help] break down stains and dirt on fabric better than soap and water alone,” per the professors at the Center for Research on Ingredient Safety at Michigan State University. “Enzymes target specific types of stains and break them down quickly and effectively. For example, some enzymes will target proteins, starches, or fats and help break down and remove those ingredients quickly.” As a general rule of thumb, however, look for ingredients that end in “-ase,” like amylases (removes starch stains from pasta and potatoes), lipases (removes fat stains from butter and oil) or proteases (removes protein stains from grass, eggs or bodily fluids). Otherwise, if you have allergies or eczema, you’ll want to do some homework on plant-based, natural detergents that won’t irritate your skin. 

Once you’ve established your detergent will leave your laundry cleaner than before, you should look to your existing perfume collection for a scent that’s right for you. Do you typically wear florals with notes of rose or sweet scents with amber and vanilla? Snif’s Old Money Everything Wash is an option to look into. If you’re more of a musky person who appreciates warm, rich notes (like bergamot and amber), Hotel Collection Black Velvet Laundry Pods or Tyler’s Diva Wash is the way to go. And of course, if you’re someone who prefers the simple, classic linen scent of laundry itself, you can’t go wrong with Laundress’s Activewear Detergent or L'avant Collective.